


give me one more night with you

by taburosa



Series: i was a train wreck, but you took the ride [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Drinking, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kinda smutty kinda not, M/M, One Night Stands, angsty alec lightwood deserves the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24032206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taburosa/pseuds/taburosa
Summary: alec lightwood is good at one night stands. he gets what he wants and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. he's a liar who realises he wants more.or, alec lightwood hates himself but he hates himself a little less when he's with magnus.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: i was a train wreck, but you took the ride [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735810
Comments: 10
Kudos: 114





	give me one more night with you

**Author's Note:**

> its nearly 4am and i just turned 21 and i love alec
> 
> (this has heavy references, and lyrics, from all time low's 'don't you go')

The first time Alec saw him was from across a crowded club. 

Alec had the taste of his last cigarette on his tongue which he chased away with tequila and lime. He spotted the man amongst a sea of suddenly uninteresting bodies. He was dancing freely, his hips moving in beat with the booming music coming from the speakers. His shirt tight around bulging biceps and a broad chest. Alec licked his lips once, his face souring at the slight hint of salt, and headed into the crowd. 

Coming to a stop behind the man after forcing himself through the masses, he rested his hands on his hips and felt the other slowly back into him. His back pressed into Alec’s chest, the man was hot as he continued to dance smoothly. His hair clung to his temples in thick, sweaty ringlets and the sheen of sweat that coated his cheeks shone almost as bright as the glitter around his eyes. He was dressed more extravagantly than Alec, who adorned his usual combination of a black shirt and black jeans, and his purple shirt sparkled underneath the strobe lights.

Alec doesn’t ask his name before he captures his lips. Nibbling on his bottom lip slightly, he prised the others’ mouth open and caressed his tongue with his own. Alec’s fingers find themselves nestled into the man’s back pocket, squeezing the flesh through the fabric in his palms, as he pushes their crotches together. 

Alec tells him his name is James as he pushes him down onto his dirty couch. After little convincing to bring him home, Alec has the taste of the other man stuck on his lips. He kisses down his chest, the other mumbling words that, sober, could make even Alec blush. He doesn’t take his time to remove the man’s clothes, removing them as quickly as he can manage with shaking hands and blurred vision. 

Alec lights another cigarette as the other collects his clothes and heads out of the door. 

-

The second time happens in a dirty toilet cubicle. 

Alec wasn’t planning on getting drunk tonight, but his manager had decided that Alec had been late for his shift one too many times and subsequently requested he turn in his apron and badge. Alec had given him the finger for good measure, too, and Alec found himself in _Pandemonium_ on a Wednesday night. 

He’d been drinking rum and cheap shots seated in a far corner of the club when he’d spotted him again. The other seemed drunker than the last time, his movements looser and the smile on his face wider. His hair, which Alec thinks must have been neater when he left the house, was messily shoved off his face in a vague attempt at a quiff. 

Alec felt temptation swelling within his stomach. He ordered two more shots and swallowed them down with ease. His bones ached as he stood from the barstool and made his way through the small crowd. He tapped the man on the shoulder hard to get his attention. The man spun on his heels and his eyes widened as he recognised Alec. His eyes were glazed over slightly, alert yet distant, and he grinned maniacally at Alec. 

“You wanna come with me?” 

Alec barely gave him a chance to answer as he grabbed his hand, warm and sweaty, and tugged him out of the dancefloor and towards the bathroom. Alec didn’t look back to see the other man’s eyebrows raised in confusion. 

Luckily, the men’s toilets were sparse with only a few men mulling around the sinks before heading out. Alec entered a cubicle and barely locked the stall before crushing his mouth with the others’. He pinned the man to the bright red wall and his fingers found the loop of his belt. 

The man mumbles _my name is Magnus_ as Alec drops to his knees. 

-

The third time, Alec had been holding a bag of ice against his bleeding nose. 

If anyone had asked, it wasn’t Alec’s fault; the other guy was an _asshole_ and Alec had no idea he had a boyfriend, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have attempted to grab his dick at the bar. Alec barely had time to register the interruption before rough knuckles met his flesh and he was on the ground. He was pulled away by strangers' hands that stopped him from returning the favour, and Alec found himself sitting on a curb outside the club before the clock had even hit midnight. 

He was seated near the entrance, a queue of intoxicated _idiots_ staring at him as they waited to be let inside. Alec had blood on his sleeve and a trail of dried scarlet around his mouth. He ran his tongue over his front teeth, luckily none felt like they had chipped. 

“James?”

Alec heard calling behind him. Ignoring the shouting, he spat on the concrete. 

“Hey, James. Are you okay?” A hand on his shoulder had Alec jumping and turning his neck, ready to throw a long-awaited punch. 

“Who the fuck-” Alec stopped upon noticing the hand was soft, familiar, and adorned with plum nail polish. “Oh. Hey.” 

Magnus smiled down at Alec and under the street lights, Alec finds him even more attractive than before. Magnus turned around and waved a hand towards a group of women behind him before taking a seat next to Alec on the ground. 

“What on Earth happened here?” Magnus ignored Alec’s protests and removed the bag of ice, one that had been handed to him by security and was steadily melting, and tipped Alec’s chinned upwards. “Goodness, James.” 

Alec winced subtly as Magnus uses his pseudonym. The look of genuine concern caused an unfamiliar pain to twist in Alec’s chest. 

“Just some dickhead, don’t worry about it.” Alec mumbled, attempting to free his chin from Magnus’ curious grip. 

“It looks sore, keep that ice on it and put your head forward a bit,” Magnus commands, to which he continues, “I’m a med student, I know what I’m talking about.” 

Alec felt his tongue swell in his mouth as he imagined Magnus in his scrubs. 

“You should probably, um, go catch up with your friends.” 

“No, it’s alright. I’ll make sure you get home okay.” Magnus states, and Alec can tell from his tone that this is unnegotiable. Forcing himself to stand, Alec grabs Magnus’ hand and wrenches him upwards. 

The conversation is quiet as they walk to Alec’s apartment, Magnus only speaking once every few minutes to ask about the pain in Alec’s nose. Alec merely nodded along and brushed away his concern. 

Magnus doesn’t hesitate when Alec asks him to come inside. 

-

The fourth time, Alec was sober. 

He wakes with a throbbing pain that consumes his face. His mouth is wide open and dry, and based off the chills caressing his body, he’s naked. He wasn’t too drunk the night before, so, right now, he remembers everything. He remembered Magnus’ lips on his his, his hands on his body and his thighs wrapped around Alec’s hips. 

Alec had pushed into him while he buried his face in Magnus’ neck and bit his skin hard, licking over the new marking and sucking the tanned skin in between his teeth. Alec had fallen asleep before Magnus had left.

Alec began to stretch his body out, taking notice of the ache burning in his calves, and rolled his neck slightly. He goes to stretch his arm out to the side when his fingers brush warm skin. 

Shocked, he turned his head quickly and scolded himself at the sight before him. Magnus was laying with his face towards Alec. His cheeks creased from Alec’s cheap sheets, Alec noted how soft the other man looks in his sleep. His usually immaculate eyeliner is smeared in dark circles around his eye that, Alec hazards a guess, looks very similar to the bruising around his own eye. 

Alec propped himself up on his elbows, glancing around his small bedroom. There’s a pile of dirty laundry pushed into the corner of the room and overflowing from the hamper. Mugs of coffee sat cold on the cluttered bedside table and there was a patch of damp looking over his dresser. Alec’s never been embarrassed of his little apartment or the state of his clothing before, but as he noticed Magnus’ golden shirt crumpled in a pile on the floor next to Alec’s beaten up black Vans, his cheeks flushed pink.

Alec lay back down on the bed; the cotton was scratching at skin as he glanced back over at Magnus. He was breathing softly and small puffs of air escaped his slightly parted lips, and Alec wanted to run his fingers through the fringe that was tickling his eyelids. 

Alec leaned over and woke Magnus with a kiss, beginning at a dip in his collar and trailing up to his mouth. After that, Magnus doesn’t leave until long after the sun has set and Alec feels the ache in his chest settle within his throat. 

-

When Alec fucks up, he fucks up harder than he ever has before. 

It’s late and Magnus was over again. Magnus, who is kind and doesn’t comment on Alec’s messy home or peeling wallpaper. Magnus who can take Alec apart by simply trailing his fingertips over the inside of Alec's naked thigh. Magnus, who Alec knows nothing about and yet feels himself yearning to learn more, to ask questions and allow him to unravel before him. _Magnus_ , who still doesn’t know Alec’s name. 

They’d exchanged phone numbers the last time Magnus was over, approximately three weeks after their first meeting, and he had guiltily typed _James_ into Magnus’ contacts, the phone screen burning his retinas and fingers as he hastily handed it back and walked Magnus to the door. 

Alec invited Magnus over several hours ago and they were still lounging in Alec’s bed, not speaking. Alec was exhausted; Magnus had continued to utter _JamesJamesJames_ through broken breaths as Alec touched his skin, and he felt his strength wavering. Magnus would be gone soon, eventually bored and uninterested, and the pressure in Alec’s chest would diminish as he took another’s hand in his bed. 

Magnus reached over and toyed with Alec’s hand, intertwining his digits with his own, slightly smaller, fingers. Alec sighed. 

“You should probably be heading off soon.” He whispered, careful to not break the lull of the room as though he were cautiously tip toeing on thin glass. 

“Do you want me to leave?”

Alec felt the glass cracking underneath his feet and, if he didn’t tread carefully, he knew shattered shards would enter his skin and tear him to pieces. 

He glanced over at Magnus. Wide-eyed. Beautiful. Magnus. He hesitates before saying: “I don’t know.” 

“What does that mean?”

Alec looked back at the ceiling. The damp patch was growing. 

“James?” 

Alec sighed heavily, scrunching his eyes tightly together. “Don’t.” He says through gritted teeth. 

“Don’t what?” 

Magnus sat up in bed, the blanket pooling on his lap and Alec didn't allow himself to look at the expanse of smooth muscle. 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. James?” 

As though a dam broke inside of him, Alec threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood, spinning to glare at Magnus through the mist clouding his vision. 

“That is not my _fucking_ name.” He spat. 

Magnus looked up at Alec and confusion flooded his face. Alec felt shards of glass digging in his throat and he wanted to choke on the blood. 

“Excuse me? What?” Magnus stood too, but pulled on his discarded underwear and clothes before standing in front of Alec. “What are you talking about?” 

Despite Alec’s towering frame, he felt small next to Magnus as he faced him. 

“I lied to you.” 

“What? When? _Why_?” Magnus stumbled over his words as they raced out of his mouth, the man unable to decide which questions he wanted answers to first. 

“This whole time. I’m so sorry, Magnus.” 

Magnus scoffed in disbelief. 

“What is your name, then?”

“Alec.” 

Magnus looked shocked and glanced up and down at Alec. Alec couldn’t find energy within him to be embarrassed at his naked form and instead took a step closer to Magnus. 

Magnus took a step back. 

“Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to end this before I ever had to find out?” Alec looked into Magnus’ eyes and realised they were glossy, a tear threatening to spill. 

“No, that's not what this is about.” 

“You fucked me, _so_ many times. Made me want you over and over again. You were all I thought about for days. All I wanted to see was _you_. And you don’t even have the decency to be honest with me about your fucking name?” 

“That’s not why I lied. You don’t know anything about me.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think I want to.”

Magnus turned quickly and picked up his shirt, haphazardly fastening the buttons down his front before making an exit for the door, stopping to stuff his feet in his shoes. 

“Magnus, wait, I can explain.” Alec paused briefly to pull his boxers over his hips and he kicked the shoes that were gathered by the doorway to the side. 

“No. Fuck you, _Alec.”_ He choked on Alec’s name as though it was poison on the tip of his tongue. 

“Please, I promise I can explain, it’s not what you think.” 

“You looked me straight in the eyes and lied. You’re just like the rest of them. Making promises you _never_ intend to keep. Just for what? A guaranteed lay without actually wanting to get to know me? I’m worth so much more than that, so stay the fuck away from me from now on.” 

Alec hesitated as Magnus turned away from him again; he wanted to reach his hand out and grab Magnus by his elbow, pull him close and hold him against his body. 

Instead, he lets the door slam shut as he falls to his knees. 

-

Alec feels the chill down to his bones. 

He’s perfectly sober, more alert than he usually is for this time in the evening, and his last cigarette has burned down to a stub in between the grip of his fingers. He sucks in the nicotine through his pursed lips and exhales one final breath of smoke before dropping it to the ground and stubbing it out with his toe. He’s decided he’s going to quit. 

He had attempted to clean his shoes earlier in the day, scrubbing dried mud and splashes of beer off the white fabric. They don’t look as good as new but he wants to make a good impression. It’s a start. 

His eyes coast over the queue forming at _Pandemonium_ and, from where he’s propped up against the bus stop, he can see that Magnus has not yet arrived. He sweeps a hand over the black shirt he’s wearing, smoothing out a wrinkle that formed on his stomach, and he swats away an invisible speck of dust on his jeans. He’d kept his hair fluffy, his fringe sweeping over his forehead and Alec can see a rogue curl poking into his line of vision. He doesn’t brush it away. 

It’s close to midnight already and Alec closes his eyes for a moment as a harsh wind washes over him. _Fuck New York,_ he thinks bitterly. 

As if from nowhere, Alec hears Magnus’ laugh as loud as though he is standing next to him. He isn't, he’s across the road, heading towards _Pandemonium_ with his arm intertwined with a woman with fiery red hair. He looks good; his hair perfectly slicked into a quiff and he’s wearing the same shirt he wore the first time Alec slept with him. 

Alec feels his heart in his throat as he crosses the street. 

“Magnus.” He calls, but Magnus appears to not hear him.

He tries again, louder. “Magnus!”

Magnus and the red head stop in their tracks and turn to face Alec. Magnus’ eyes, a soft and deep brown, are black as he glares at Alec. 

“Please, go away.” He begs. 

“Magnus please, I just want to talk.” 

The woman nudges Magnus with her elbow, and when he doesn’t move she detaches herself from his side and takes a step back, giving Alec a knowing look. “We’ll go queue, Mags. Give us a shout if you need us.” She gives Alec another look before moving away with the rest of the group. 

Magnus’ feet appear to be stuck to the ground.

“Can we talk over there? It’s quieter there.” Alec suggests. Magnus looks up at Alec briefly before crossing the road without looking either side. 

He comes to a stop and says: “What do you want, Alec?” 

Alec would like the way Magnus says his name if it wasn’t wrapped in poison ivy. 

He sighs deeply and, while keeping his eyes locked with Magnus’, he speaks:

“My name is Alexander Gideon Lightwood but my friends call me Alec; right now it feels like I don’t have many of those. My birthday is September 12th, which makes me a virgo but I don’t know what that means. My favorite TV show is _Chopped_ and I cry every time I watch _Call Me By Your Name_. I’m a wretched chain smoker and I can’t afford to pay my rent this month. I’m a liar, I’m messy and scruffy and I can’t handle my booze. I have been fired from every single job I have ever had and I came out as gay when I was thirteen. But most importantly, I _really_ want to go on a date with you.”

Alec gasps on a breath as he stops speaking. He’s proud that he didn’t stumble once, but he had rehearsed every word enough in his head that it comes naturally. Magnus doesn’t respond, so Alec continues. 

“I’m sorry I lied to you. I thought nothing would come of us sleeping together, so I gave you a fake name so you wouldn’t know anything about me and it would never become anything real. I should have corrected this when I realised you weren’t the same as everyone else.” Alec winces as he recalls Magnus’ scathing, but deserved, words. 

“It stopped being a one night stand the moment I woke up next to you. Please, if you can, just give me one more night with you and I promise I will always be honest with you.” 

Alec finally stops speaking, and it feels like he can breathe again. 

Magnus blinks and Alec looks at the ground.

“Alexander. That’s a lovely name.” 

Alec’s head snaps back up and while Magnus’ eyes are swimming in tears, Alec finally feels tall enough not to drown. 

“You really think so?” He breathes, lungs grateful he’s reaching the surface. 

“Yes, I do.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Thank you for being honest with me, finally.” 

Alec chokes on a chuckle and steps closer towards Magnus, resting his hands on his hips. 

“I’ve heard relationships and things, they, um, they take effort.” 

“I’m sure you can make it up to me, maybe we can start with drinks and see where it goes from there?” Magnus asks, he places his hands around Alec’s neck and his lips stretch into a small smile. 

This time, Alec doesn’t hesitate. 

“It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on [tumblr](https://iambeingcoy.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/iambeingcoy)


End file.
